Meeting Santa

(Jolly Ol' Saint Nick, at our congregation's Christmas breakfast)

A week ago, Saturday, BBJ had the distinct opportunity of meeting not one, but two, Santa's, all in the same day. The joy! (Here, on the East Coast, there seems to be a tradition of finding Santa Clause parked in large supermarkets. We spotted him on a gorgeous velvet throne in the bakery section of Stew Leonard's, handing out candy canes. Hence, the two Santas in one day. This didn't seem to bother BBJ, and she never once assumed they were the same person. Just Two Santas!)

We began our day with a breakfast at church. Various ladies in the congregation brought chopped fruits for a salad, or breakfast casseroles. A small horde of grandfathers manned a squadron of flat-top griddles, churning out flapjacks as fast as tripped circuit breakers would allow. (As it turns out, 6 griddles are simply one - or 5 - too many for a single circuit. Fascinating, no? Oddly enough, in our leadership meeting the next morning, Mapping Out Circuits was on the agenda as a To-Do item for 2010.)

Before we turned BBJ loose on her plate of syrup and bacon, we paid a visit to the Big Man in Red. She had been practicing what she would say when faced with His Velvetness - I want a pwincess! (One can only assume that Santa, being the all-seeing, all-knowing man that he is, will understand that this refers to the dress a princess would wear, and not to an actual Royal Personage. Although, should said Royal Personage be willing to part with her clothes, I assume she would make a fine compromise. *ahem*)

The message being delivered, we were then able to enjoy our breakfast in (relative) peace. (Siu Jeun has discovered that Legs are for Going. And Going can mean Wandering. And Wandering can mean a Toddler On the Loose In A Sea of Tables. This never bothers him, as he prefers to beg for his breakfast, like an ill-trained puppy. If I wanted to find him, I simply followed the trail of turned heads, staring pointedly in my direction. Your 11 month old is at my table, and preparing to leave to continue his rounds. Are you ok with this, Ms. Relief Society President?) (The pressure! I tell you...)

We had a short break in the middle of our breakfast to visit another room where I believe I met with the highlight of my 2009 Christmas Season. A family in our ward, with a sweet little infant, was dressed up as Mary and Joseph, with their baby in swaddling clothes. The missionaries serving in our ward read a short passage of scripture...and I only wished we could have stayed in the room longer. (Families were brought in for a few minutes at a time, in small groups, so as to preserve the tranquility and reverence of the scene.) I heard later that two young brothers had convinced themselves that they had truly just met Jesus. It was a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate this season.

Back in the main gym area of the building, we were reminded of another aspect of this season - the Giving. Over the past few weeks, our congregation has collected donations of food, toiletries and monies. After our breakfast, while the children worked on crafts in another area, a group of us set to work parceling out the hill of donated food into the mountain of gift-wrapped boxes. When we were done, I surveyed the pile helped note what items still needed to be purchased, using the monies that had been collected. This is a wonderful tradition in this ward, and one I'm sure has blessed many, many people.

I have been scarce recently, preparing for various activities, or sewing gifts. My time to share our life with you, my friends, has been cut back considerably. As the year speeds to a close, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukkah. I would love it if you could share some of your wintertime/holiday traditions in the comments!